France declares a state of emergency in its overseas territory - New Caledonia
Kyiv • UNN
France declares a state of emergency in New Caledonia amid violence over electoral reform.
In the evening of May 15, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced a state of emergency in New Caledonia, a French overseas territory in the Pacific Ocean, where violence has broken out in recent days. This is reported by BFMTV, UNN reports.
Details
In connection with the declaration of a state of emergency, New Caledonia will deploy a military contingent to ensure the security of ports and the airport, and ban the social network TikTok.
The High Commissioner of New Caledonia, Louis Le Frank, who asked for army reinforcements to protect Noumea Airport, also announced a curfew on the territory.
On the morning of May 16, the next meeting of the interagency group will be held, chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron. Due to the situation in New Caledonia, he postponed his planned visit.
Context
Since Monday, New Caledonia, which has long sought independence, has been protesting against a constitutional reform of voting rights that would allow residents who have lived in the territory for 10 years to vote in local elections.
At least three people were killed in the clashes and four others, including gendarmes, were seriously injured. In total, the number of wounded exceeds 300.
In 2021, New Caledonia voted overwhelmingly in favor of renouncing its independence from France in a referendum.
